


Sunshine and homemade bread

by PinkDogPlushie



Series: MASH Shifter AU [1]
Category: MASH (TV)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Animal Transformation, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Crack and Angst, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, M/M, Multi, Shapeshifting, Wildcat! Hawkeye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-01 21:57:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19186201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkDogPlushie/pseuds/PinkDogPlushie
Summary: BJ wakes up the day after a fight to find that Hawkeye has changed.Hawkeye wakes up the morning after a thunderstorm with a new perspective on life.





	Sunshine and homemade bread

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfiction in this fandom. I hope it's good :)  
> Some notes to understand the following installment of the series:  
> ❔ Shifters can only turn into mammals.  
> ❔ There are active shifters and passive shifters. Active shifters can turn into an animal with which they have a certain affinity. Passive shifters can't turn into animals, but they can bond with one they feel connected to, sometimes to the point they can understand them as if they could talk.
> 
> This isn't beta'ed, so do tell me if I have made any mistakes. And, of course, comments are much appreciated.
> 
> Alright, without further ado, on with the story!

BJ wakes up to sunlight in his face. As always, he's twisted into his too-small cot and his blanket is not warm enough. Spring in Uijeongbu is unpredictable, if last night's thunderstorm and today's crisp morning are anything to go by.

There are no choppers coming by, no off-key bugle echoing in the compound, no distant shells exploding to give them more work. All in all, he could say this day is starting well.

He sits up and stretches, his head pounding and already dreading whatever the cook has made for breakfast. He looks over at Hawkeye's cot, memories of the previous night coming back to his mind. 

He'd had a stupid fight with Hawk. They were both very drunk and tired, Hawkeye was worried about a patient he had operated on that was going south in Post-Op, and BJ had been trying to comfort him. He still can't remember how they ended up yelling at each other about their skills. It hadn't been so bad, but it felt too much like a quarrel. One of the things Peg's mother, Judy, had told him before they got married was that couples should never go to bed angry, to talk things out. A letter from Peggy basically telling him to get a clue, a heartfelt confession that was fortunately requited, and several months of secret cuddling and escapades to the supply shed later, BJ can honestly say Hawkeye and him were a couple.

Guilt making him press his lips, he walks to Hawk's cot; but as he approaches, he sees it's empty, except for a big bundle under the blanket that's probably dirty laundry. He sighs and sits down by the bundle, making the cot creak.

And then the bundle moves.

***

Hawkeye wakes up, for a change, warm and comfortable. It's still dark, or maybe the clouds from last night's thunderstorm are still there.

Wait, no. It's not dark.

Goddammit, he's just under his blanket!

He lets out a displeased sound and stretches, arching his back. Then he settles down again, hoping to catch some more shut-eye before wounded (inevitably) came over to get their bodies sewn so they can get  them torn (pierced, cut, ripped apart) again.

But suddenly, the blanket is gone. The chilly air of The Swamp hits him in the face and he lets out another sound, telling whoever the fuck decided it was a good idea to uncover him that he is  _not_  amused. He cracks his eyes open, a snarky remark at the ready.

But something's wrong. Everything looks grey, except for BJ's eyes, which are wide and as blue as always.

***

When the wildcat opens its eyes, a feeling of familiarity floods BJ. Perhaps his pupils are slitted and his face is grey, but he can say without a doubt that it's Hawkeye. He must have shifted in his sleep. 

BJ doesn't know what to do. It's been so long since someone shifted close to him. Peg's passive, Erin's too young to tell, and he hasn't talked with his sister Claire since his wedding. The last time he shifted himself was when he was 13. And he doesn't know much about cats, least of all wildcats, like to know what Hawkeye is thinking. Does he even recognize him?

"Hawkeye?" he asks, before he can stop himself. 

***

Hawkeye wishes he could speak, but he's aware ( _he's aware_ ) that he's not in his human form anymore, and that's new because he has never shifted before yet he instinctively knows he's something else. And if anything, the way the world has turned into shades of grey and flashes of blue is a clear sign that these are not his human eyes. 

He can't stop staring at BJ's eyes. Among all the grey, they're as cerulean as ever, and they are captivating. He lets out what can only be described as a mewl, stands on his four legs ( _four legs_ ) and walks towards Beej, his paws sinking into the squeaky mattress. He's aware that he's big, bigger than a domestic cat, but not exactly a panther either.

"It is you, isn't it?" BJ whispers in awe. Hawkeye wants to say 'yes', smile or at least nod to let him know he's right, but he can't do any of that stuff. Nevertheless, he keeps walking the short distance towards BJ. When he reaches him, he rubs his head on Beej's tummy, the only way he can say 'yep, it's little old feelsy me'.

The sensation of his lover's hand on his head is not entirely foreign, but it feels very different when it's a cat's head being scratched rather than his mop of black hair. He purrs, something that admittedly he also does as a human, pleased and content with how the morning is going so far. He'll have time to figure out why he shifted (why now, why not before) later; for now, he just wants to enjoy this as much as he can.

_Attention, all personnel!--_

Shit.

***

_Incoming wounded! This looks like a big one folks. All shifts, to OR, on the double! And be glad you were saved from breakfast._

BJ doesn't want this to end, but he can't ignore the call for aid. He stands up too quickly, making Hawkeye jump to the floor. He observes his feline companion walk as he ties his robe.

"It makes sense that you're a cat. You walk just the same as you do as a human."

Hawkeye just stares at him. Once again, BJ finds himself wondering what he's thinking of all this, although he appears to be pretty calm overall. He's sat with his tail swishing behind him, and he keeps staring at BJ.

He can't dwell on this now. The wounded need him.

Leaving the matter of his shifter bunkmate aside for the moment, he runs out of The Swamp to OR. Charles must already be there, given he had Post-Op duty last night. He needs to get prepped, pronto.

*

He should have foreseen this. Hawkeye will never neglect his duties, whiskers or no whiskers.

Charles is justifiedly weirded out (or maybe spooked? It's never easy to tell with Charles) when he sees an European Wildcat push open the doors to the scrub room as they're washing their arms.

"What is that cat doing here?" he asks, trepidation in his voice.

"That cat, Charles, is our Chief Surgeon." BJ answers, although he knows that won't appease his fellow surgeon: after all, any animal is a potential transporter of infections and disease, thus a big no-no in any sterile enviroment.

"This is hardly the time to joke, Hunnicutt, but if he is really Pierce, do inform him that he would be much more useful to us with opposable thumbs."

"He's perfectly able to understand you, Charles."

"Then why isn't he shifting back?"

This question makes BJ think. He looks at Hawk, taking on how he's pacing back and forth, his tail raised high and rigid.

"... I don't think he can." He states, looking at Charles.

Worry flashes by Charles' electric blue eyes, before being replaced by annoyance: "Just what we needed." He mutters behind the mask Nurse Kellye is hastily tying over his mouth. After getting his gloves on, he leaves the scrub room to start work.

BJ turns to Hawkeye, who's still pacing around and grunting, clearly distressed.

"Is there anything I can do, Hawk?"

***

He has to shift back! He can't get stuck now, or ever, the wounded need him...

He tries to calm down, but most of his mind is telling him to run away and hide in the coziest nook he can find in short notice. The part of him that is not completely panicked by now is trying to remember what his uncles and aunts used to tell him, when he was still young and wanted to shift as much as he wanted to be a doctor. Most of his family on his mother's side are active shifters, so they always offered advice when they saw him trying to shift.

_Find an anchor_ , he remembers,  _something to pull you back and keep you in the world of the bipeds_ (he obviously inherited his sense of humor from that side of the family).

An anchor. But what?

BJ is crouching by his side, looking as  open and willing to help as always. 

Suddenly, it hits him. 

BJ. He is his anchor, keeping his feet on the ground whenever he's at risk of getting carried away by his worries and passions.

Just as he realizes this, he picks up a familiar scent. BJ's odor, as unique as it is for every person in the world.

He walks around BJ, observing all of his features. He likes to think he knows BJ's body as well as he knows his own, but Peg probably beats him on that (and he can't wait to learn-- no, he's getting off track. Back to the task at hand). 

He concentrates on BJ's scent as he walks around him, letting it flood him. BJ smells of homemade bread and sunshine, aftershave , cheap gin and the unavoidable dirt of Uijeongbu. There's also a tinge of blood not his own, but that's also something unavoidable in Uijeongbu.

He feels a dull pain in his muscles and bones, the first signs that he's starting to shift back, but he focuses on what BJ makes him feel instead and lets the process run its course.

***

BJ watches in awe as Hawkeye becomes human again. His eyes are closed and he looks peaceful, at least from Beej's position in the floor. When he stands up, getting on Hawk's eye level, he can see his lover's eyes snap open, still slitted, and change into those of a human.

For a moment, BJ just stands there, not knowing what to do. Naked Hawkeye (shifters can't carry their clothes in their transformations) usually has that effect on him: the guy is just that beautiful. 

Only Hawk's impatient voice drags him back to reality: "If you want, you can stare at my cock later, Beej. Now I need scrubs, quick."

BJ feels himself blush hard: "I wasn't staring--!"

"Yes you were, and no, this is not the time to talk about it. Hand me some scrubs."

Sensing it's useless to argue, he numbly heads towards the table with scrubs: "Wait. Hawkeye, you can't operate with just scrubs on!"

"There's not exactly time to--"

"Here, sir," Radar says, walking in with his eyes covered and some of Hawkeye's clothes hanging from his hand "I picked up some clothes for you."

The two of them stare dumbfounded at the kid: "How did he--?" BJ starts.

"Beej, I've told you a million times:" Hawkeye cuts in, grabbing his clothes "don't question it; just go with it."

*

It's deep at night when they emerge from OR. BJ is tired in so many levels it's almost unbelievable, although he can't agree if what's incredible is how exhausted he is or that he can still go on after so many hours in surgery.

Hawk and him stagger back to The Swamp. Charles is stuck with Post-Op duty again. He probably crossed Margaret a few days ago and now is paying for his trasgression. The thought makes BJ crack a tired little smile.

Cots always feel so good after endless hours  of putting kids back together, he decides as he flops down, making his sorry excuse for a bed protest. But once he's tucked in, he can't fall asleep. Even though he knows he's tired, something is keeping him awake. 

He stares at Hawk's back, turned at him as his bunkmate seemingly sleeps: "Hawkeye?"

An "mhh?" emerges from him, more aware than it would be if Hawkeye was actually sleeping.

"Will you come here? To me?"

For a moment, Hawkeye doesn't move, and BJ fears thst he's still mad about last night, which they haven't talked about because of all the wounded and shifting around. Then, slowly, tiredly, he rises from his cot and drags himself to BJ's, sighing when he lays down by his side. 

"Can't sleep?" he whispers.

"Nah." Beej answers.

"Me neither."

The two of them fall silent, until BJ finally says "I'm sorry. About last night."

"It's alright..."

"We should have talked things through. If we're going to make this work..."

"Do you want to make this work?"

"Of course I do! For you, for Peg, for Erin..."

"Don't you think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself there, sunshine boy?"

"Do I have to read Peg's letter to you again? Because I'm going to be honest, Hawk: I don't think I have the energy to move my eyes over letters."

"Yet you're still pretty talkative for this time of the night."

"That's weird; you're usually the one who can't keep his mouth shut deep at night."

He feels Hawkeye laugh lightly by his side. That feeling of familiarity is back again, the one he got when he looked at the wildcat's eyes, and he pulls Hawk closer.

"I didn't know you were active."

He hears Hawk quiet down, but his voice is still light when he answers "That makes two of us."

"Wait, you didn't know?"

"Nah. For most of my life, I thought I was passive. I always felt more connected to wildcats, but I thought that was because my mom had been one. If anything, I expected to be an active form of my dad."

"Why, what's your dad's animal?"

"Grey foxes. But he's passive. My mom was active, at least until she got pregnant. After I was born, she only shifted occassionally. I actually don't remember seeing her in wildcat form much."

"Oh." He just says, because his brain is demanding sleep now that he has Hawkeye by his side.

"What about you?"

"Mmh?"

"What's your animal, Beej?"

He feels reluctant to answer. He has always associated his animal form with violence and his crappy childhood home. Besides, he should really get some sack before more wounded come (because more wounded always come).

"I'm a wolf." He ends up answering, because it doesn't seem fair to keep it to himself.

"Really? That's amazing."

"I don't like it."

"What would you rather be? A badger?"

"A frog, if it was possible. Something harmless."

"Frogs aren't exactly harmless. There are some that can kill you with just their touch. And wolves aren't dangerous unless you provoke them."

"That's the problem. What if something... provokes me?"

Hawkeye doesn't answer. BJ has confided in him, the same way he did with Peg once, about his fear of turning out as violent as his parents. But Hawk doesn't know the true extent of BJ's dislike for shifting.

"Both my parents are wolves. My sister is too."

"And you don't want to join the family business?"

BJ doesn't answer. Eventually, Hawkeye says "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But, you know me: either I joke or I die. No middle ground."

BJ still doesn't answer, trying to figure out how to continue this conversation. He feels Hawk fidget in his grasp.

"Many of the times my parents fought, they ended up shifting and attacking each other. Of course, no one outside our house knew, as the scars healed quickly and we didn't dare tell anyone. But it certainly didn't help me see my animal form in a good light. I chose to not shift anymore at 13, and I haven't missed it. I have a temper; if you add being a wolf to that, it can only lead to disaster. What if I ever get angry at Peg? Or Erin? Or--"

He feels Hawkeye's hand under his shirt, caressing his chest. It doesn't feel sexual, but it's intimate and it calms BJ's racing heart.

"I'm sorry, Beej. I'm sorry they have ruined so many things for you. Any time you tell me about your parents, I... I feel..."

"Furious? Disgusted? Helpless?"

"... Yeah."

"Then you'll get along with Peg just fine, 'cause she feels the exact same thing. I try not to talk about it much, because I don't want to upset her, or you. It's not something you can fix and there's no point making you feel bad about it."

"But we worry because we care, Beej. Because, because we love you."

It still makes him catch his breath whenever Hawkeye says things like that.

"I love you both too."

Silence falls again. BJ finally begins to doze off when he hears Hawkeye call him "Beej?"

"... what?"

"You're wonderful as a human, so you're obviously wonderful as a wolf too."

BJ lets out an amused, tired huff and closes his eyes, pulling Hawkeye closer.


End file.
